Spains Business Activities

As a result, Spain became a prominent economic power in the 16th and 17th centuries. A few centuries later in 1807, Napoleon led an attack into Spain. The attack was successful and resulted in the French occupying Spain until the Nationalist resistance together with the help of Britain forced them out. However, the war did result in dramatic consequences for Spain’s economy. Farmers had their livestock and crops confiscated and destroyed. This slowed down the modernization of the agricultural sector (Picon & Garcia. Import of capital goods, food products, machinery, mineral coal, chemical products, paper pulp and many more reduced. The end of the war resulted in the reduction of exports by around 40% as the European industry recovered (Picon & Garcia. In 1939, Francisco Franco and the Spanish Nationalists won the Spanish Civil war.

This war had devastated Spain’s economy. It was during this period that large differences in industrial intensity emerged in Spanish provinces. In this period several factors affected the economic geography. They included endowment, market size, and production scale. The deep historical roots of these factors played a big role in the regional differences. These differences were due to the different scales of economies and difference in market potential across the different provinces (Paluzie, Tirado & Pons, 2002). Their PPP is below the country’s average with about 10%. The final group is comprised of Asturias, the Canary Islands, Castille-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, and Extremadura. Their PPP about 10-20% than the country’s average (Jones, 2015). From a geographical point of view, time zones have an effect on Spain’s international business.

It influences both trading patterns and partners (Simon, 2013). 7% of all imports. 2% of all exports were industrial minerals while 2. 5% of all imports were industrial minerals. Most metals in Spain are mined by international companies. For example, the Inmet Mining Corp of Canada owns the Las Cruces mine which it acquired in 2010. In 2010 the country produced 337,000 barrels of crude oil and 20,450 million m3 of natural gas (“Spain: Mining, Minerals,” 2012). From the above statistics, it is clear the mining industry in Spain is quite diverse. This has resulted in the attraction of many foreign investors. Other factors that have contributed to the same include the country’s skilled workforce, fiscal policies, well-developed legislative framework and well-developed infrastructure “Spain: Mining, Minerals,” 2012). The domestic requirements, however, supersede the country’s mineral output.

This was mostly due to the tourism industry. The construction industry also recorded a 6% increase in its workforce. Retail sales, however, are yet to reach the expected levels. The country is still under pressure due to an unbalanced national budget and huge public debt. Pension rates are also growing adding more pressure (“Spain: Economic and Political,” 2018). Public debt has stabilized but is still quite high. The government has also been forced to increase the interprofessional minimum salary by 20%. The other salaries have also been increased by 3%. This, however, risks reducing the country’s competitiveness compared to other European countries. Structural reforms are underway to give autonomous regions better budgets. These act as critical vehicles of exchange (“Culture of Spain”). Much of southern Spain is made up of large estates where a single owner employs quite a good number of laborers who either do not own property or have very little.

The ownership of large estates goes back to Roman times. This has resulted in a significant gap in the social classes. In the north, properties are much smaller and in most cases are owned by families. However, the industry that has developed the most over the years is the tourism industry. It is estimated that the number of people who visit Spain is roughly the same as the country’s resident population. It may be seasonal but is still key. Most people visit between March and October. Some areas, however, still receive tourists even in winter. Transport equipment are key in France’s market share in Spain and due to robust sales, the share has increased to 11. On the other hand, Spain’s market share in France is also on the rise reaching 6.

This can be attributed to the France revitalizing its automobile industry (“France and Spain,” 2017). Germany is Spain’s second-highest ranking trade partner. Its imports from Spain had a value of US$36. 781 billion which accounts for 13. 48% while from France it imports goods worth $33. 622 billion which is 11. China exports product worth $26. 405 billion to Spain. 4% of all Spanish exports were to other European countries while 11. 1% were to Asian countries. 6% were exported to North America, 6. 2% to Africa and 3. 9% to Latin America and the Caribbean (Workman, 2018). 4 billion which translated to 7. 6% of total exports. The third products were mineral fuels whose value was estimated at $22. 3 billion that translated to 7% of all exports. Electrical machinery and equipment rank fourth. 6 billion which was 3% of all exports that left the country.

The eighth products were clothing and accessories and accounted for $8. 6 billion which was 2. 7% of the total exports. The ninth products were articles of iron and steel and were valued at $7. Labour forces The economic depression in Spain resulted in the demographics of Spain’s labor forces shifting dramatically. The lack of opportunities among the youth together with the high unemployment rate and the high cost of living resulted in a lot of people living the country. As a result, in 2012, Spain’s population decreased for the first time since 1971. However, five million foreigners also migrated into the country in search of natural resources and better water sources. The foreigners were also looking to acquire valuable factory property at a bargain (Cooke, 2014).

In other regions however the unemployment is well below the country’s average. For example, in Catalonia, it is 12. 19% while in Madrid it is 13. 40% (“Spain Unemployment Rate”, 2018). According to a study carried out in 2015, to increase the employability of individual several factors need to be improved. Its digital contribution to the GDP is quite low. This is due to challenges such as organizational resistance, lack of well-established innovation ecosystems, lack of investments and several others (Zamora, Vergara &, Zubizarreta, 2017). Adopting digital transformation in Spain will help grow its GDP which currently is quite low compared to countries such as the UK and USA. It also has a lower economic growth as not much has been done to leverage the technologies mentioned above.

Based on a study carried out by Accenture and Oxford Economics, the Digital Economic Opportunity (DEO) for Spain decreased between 2014 and 2016. For example, the country’s transportation sector now boasts of high-speed rail lines that cut across the country linking the major economic centers. Spain’s health care systems are also quite advanced and have led to the country spending less as a percentage of GDP. Internationally Spain is recognized for its renewable energy projects (Kennedy, 2012). References (2012). Spain: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources. Spain Unemployment Rate. Trading Economics. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics. com/spain/unemployment-rate Catala, C. An analysis of the employability of Spain’s labour force. Global Edge. Retrieved from https://globaledge. msu. edu/blog/post/7735/economic-woes-of-spain-change-workforce Culture of Spain.